ProBioGen Signs GlymaxX ADCC Enhancement Technology License Deal

ProBioGen AG has signed a non-exclusive commercial multi-product licensing agreement with Novartis on its GlymaxX Antibody Glyco-Engineering technology. Novartis will apply the technology for manufacturing of selected ADCC activity-enhanced (Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity) antibodies in clinical and pre-clinical development.

"We are very satisfied that in our continuous business relationship Novartis has tested GlymaxX and, as a consequence, decided to integrate our GlymaxX technology into its own CHO cell line platform. This underlines our technology leadership and our scientific creativity to develop smart and flexible solutions for optimized biopharmaceutical manufacturing," commented Volker Sandig, Chief Scientific Officer of ProBioGen AG. “We are convinced that our GlymaxX technology will help to accelerate the drug development for any disease in which enhanced ADCC activity translates into therapeutic benefit.”

The GlymaxX technology for production of afucosylated proteins is based on the stable integration of a heterologous enzyme into any antibody producer cell line, leading to the interference with the cells’ intracellular fucose biosynthesis pathway. As a unique feature, and differentiating it from other approaches, the GlymaxX technology can be applied to both novel and already existing antibody producer cell lines, as well as to entire production platforms, without negatively affecting their productivity. It is simple, potent and universally applicable and can easily be integrated into Novartis’ CHO platform.

Under the terms of the licence agreement, ProBioGen grants Novartis non-exclusive rights to use the GlymaxX technology for an undisclosed number of clinical and pre-clinical development programmes. Financial details were not disclosed.